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Financial paper hacked by Syrians

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:37:49 -0400

Britain's Financial Times was hacked last week by a mysterious group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army. The newspaper's technology blog was hacked to display a slogan saying: "Hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army." Several Twitter feeds run by the Financial Times were also plastered with similar slogans. The FT later said its blogs and social media accounts had been compromised ...

Cannes prostitutes can make up to $40K a night

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:50:02 -0400

Prostitutes in Cannes or the thousands of them who descend on the city each year during the Cannes Film Festival, can apparently make up to 40,000 dollars in a single night. In an extensive expose, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Elie Nahas, the person accused of running a prostitution ring that supplied women to Muammar Gaddafi's son, Moatessem, in Cannes in 2007, Fox News reported. Even ...

Whitworths snacks owner mulls sale

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:45 -0400

A 127-year-old British maker of snacks and baking products has hired advisers to explore strategic options that could see it sold for more than ...

Britain faces years of high inflation

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:45 -0400

Britons should be braced for years of high inflation as the cost of living soars stubbornly ahead of wages, a leading economic forecaster warned ...

Lego strikes gold with collectible minifigure

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:44 -0400

But Lego's Mr Gold doesn't come with a lifetime's supply of chocolate. He's an inch-and-a-half tall plastic figure like any other Lego product. His value - and he has been fetching over 700 on eBay - is in his rarity. There were just 5,000 made worldwide. The desire of adult collectors to get their hands on one is fuelling a commercial bonanza for the Danish toy maker. Part ...

Confidence returns to factories

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:44 -0400

Its quarterly barometer found 93 per cent of manufacturers surveyed plan to hire or retain their workforce, and nearly two thirds are expecting to increase sales over the next six months. The government-funded service surveyed 700 small and medium manufacturers. Michael Fallon, the Business minister, said: "Confidence is on the rise, particularly amongst SMEs, indicating that manufacturers ...

Luxury giant reveals growing interest in Joules retailer to the county set

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:43 -0400

L Capital, the private-equity arm of the world's biggest luxury goods company, LVMH, is among suitors plotting to make a major investment in Joules, the fashion retailer favoured by the county ...

Yo Sushi owner in bidding for burger chain

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:55:43 -0400

Quilvest, which acquired the sushi chain in 2008, and Searchlight Capital Partners are understood to be among the private equity houses through to the second round of bids for Byron. Byron is owned by Gondola Holdings, which has teamed up with DC Advisory for the sale. The burger company nearly doubled pre-tax profits to 2.2m, on sales of 28.6m, over the year to July 2012 and is forecast to post ...

PM urges more action on tax from UK territories

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:51:07 -0400

By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain called upon its overseas territories to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information on Monday as the UK looks to lead a global fight against tax evasion ahead of a meeting of the ...

Analysis - Little sign Abe can shake up Japans inbound FDI

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:43:47 -0400

By Stanley WhiteTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with ...

Yahoos board approves Tumblr acquisition -WSJ

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:23:48 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion (724 million pounds) in cash, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying on Sunday. ...

BUSINESS Full Page Bankia compensation qualms signal loss of faith in Spains banks

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:27:52 -0400

MADRID - Many duped savers at Spanish lender Bankia are shunning a state-monitored compensation scheme in favor of expensive lawsuits, prolonging a mis-selling scandal and complicating efforts to restore faith in the banking system. The disputes over mis-selling at Bankia and other nationalized ...

ENRC details founders $2.3 billion cash-and-share bid plan

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:18:14 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's government and the trio of founders behind miner ENRC (ENRC.L), seeking to take the company private, have offered shares in rival Kazakhmys (KAZ.L) as well as cash in an indicative proposal valuing the group at ...

UK lawmakers consider probe into transparency of mining firms

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:17:48 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament will this week consider whether to probe the transparency of oil and mining firms listed in London, an issue highlighted by corruption probes at emerging market miners which lawmakers fear have dented the stock market's ...

Exclusive - South Africas NUM seeks 15-60 percent wage rises from gold coal producers

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:46:53 -0400

By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said it would seek pay rises of up to 60 percent from gold and coal producers, raising the prospect of fresh strikes as firms battle higher costs and falling ...

Analysis Frontier Markets booming but risks mounting

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:46:26 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With the world's biggest central banks driving yields on safe assets to near zero, some investors are tossing caution to the wind and rushing to buy illiquid and previously overlooked bonds sold by countries with no capital markets track ...

German minister calls EU move on China solar grave mistake

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:15:20 -0400

Reuters © Germany's Vice Chancellor and Free Democratic Party (FDP) Chairman Philipp Roesler attends the second day of an extraordinary FDP Party meeting in Nuremberg May 5, 2013. REUTERS/Kai ...

Tesco clothing brand plans international expansion

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:15:11 -0400

said on Sunday it planned to open more than 50 new franchise stores worldwide over the next five years.F&F, which opened its first franchise store in Saudi Arabia last year, said it would open shops across the Middle East and in Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.Up to six stores will be opened this year, with the first in the Kazakh capital Astana next month.F&F gave no details ...

U.S. job market gains could lead Fed to taper QE3 early

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:55:16 -0400

By Ann Saphir and Jonathan Spicer (Reuters) - The beginning of the end of the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program might come sooner than many investors think if recent gains in the U.S. labour market do not prove fleeting. Much will ...

Greece to sell Postbank Proton in July stress-test big banks

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:54:49 -0400

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's bank rescue fund will aim to sell Hellenic Postbank and Proton by mid-July with big banks continuing to absorb small lenders as part of plans to revive the battered sector, the country's foreign lenders said in an inspection ...

Syrian forces launch airstrike on rebel-held city of Qusayr

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:45:07 -0400

Syrian forces launched an attack Sunday on the rebel-held city of Qusayr, killing at least 13 people, opposition leaders and state-run media said. The airstrikes came after months of fighting on the outskirts of the city in Homs province near the Lebanese border, ...

BoEs King sends message to successor Carney

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:05:04 -0400

By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has urged successor Mark Carney not to bring to Britain his trademark policy of spelling out how long interest rates will remain low. King also said the bank could not ...

FirstGroup plans 600 million rights issue - report

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:05:03 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Bus and rail operator FirstGroup (FGP.L) plans to announce a 600 million pound ($911.5 million) rights issue in the coming days to help pay off debt, British media reported on Sunday. FirstGroup's chairman Martin Gilbert, who ...

Independent Scotland open to Cyprus-style bank risks says Britain

Sun, 19 May 2013 05:00:37 -0400

Reuters © Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney gestures during his draft budget address in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland September 20, 2012. REUTERS/David ...

Political Economy The City of London as Savior of E.U. Finance

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:57:38 -0400

It is perhaps too much to expect the Conservative-led government in Britain to lead any initiatives on Europe, given the orgy of self-destruction in the party over whether Britain should stay in the European Union. But insofar as David Cameron manages to get some respite from the madness, he should introduce a strategy to enhance the City of London as ...

Outgoing governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King issues warning over Help to Buy scheme

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:45:24 -0400

The outgoing governor of the Bank of England has warned that George Osborne's plan to boost the housing market is "too close for comfort" to a general state guarantee for ...

Cleaning up in the city

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:12:53 -0400

FORT WAYNE – Kayana Craig, a second-grader at Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy, crossed her arms across her Drama Queen T-shirt and drew her lips into a pout as she hopped out of her dads car Saturday to pick up trash around Fort Wayne Urban Leagues campus on Hanna Street.The 9-year-old is more of a morning person, so Thurgood kindergarten teacher Felicia Farr helped her warm up ...

Balmoral show in pictures - Maze site hailed as massive success

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:04:04 -0400

Jules Knight, Holby City's newest star, has said he is considering sending a box set of the show to old friends the Duke and Duchess of ...

Hamish McRae Share price increase shows Lloyds Bank is healing – but only just

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:41 -0400

One of the country's most respected financial journalists and commentators Hamish McRae is an associate editor of The Independent. He was named Business and Finance Journalist of the Year 2006 at the British Press ...

Are insurers the Citys new fat cats

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:40 -0400

Under the stewardship of its former chief executive, Andy Haste, the company recovered from a near-death experience in the years shortly after the millennium to become one of Britain's most respected financial institutions. Dividends and profits both seemed to go only one way and even the onset of the financial crisis didn't seem to check its progress. But in recent months the mood of ...

Hamish McRae Should Italy push for more fiscal prudence in this age of austerity

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:39 -0400

Heres a solution Its time for a global companies to pay a Global Profit Tax

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:37 -0400

The cascade of revelations in recent months showing multinational companies doing a huge amount of business here and yet paying virtually no corporation tax has provoked widespread public demands for something to be done. But people tend to be rather hazier on what that "something" should ...

Bidding war for burger chain Byron

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:12:30 -0400

Quilvest, which acquired the sushi chain in 2008, and Searchlight Capital Partners are understood to be among a few private equity houses through to the second-round of bids for Byron. Silverfleet Capital looked at the 30-restaurant chain but did not submit a bid. Byron is owned by Gondola Holdings, which put the burger operator up for sale recently by teaming up with corporate finance advisers ...

Falling fuel and beer prices herald rare inflation drop

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:12:30 -0400

Easing pain for motorists at the petrol pump and Chancellor George Osborne's Budget beer duty largesse should this week herald the first fall in inflation since last ...

MS staff bonus at risk

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:12:29 -0400

Marks & Spencer's store staff could see their meagre 100 bonus trimmed or ditched after the retail bellwether posts a further fall in annual profits this ...

Energy firm SSE to feel the heat as soaring profits leave customers cold

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:12:29 -0400

SSE, the Big Six energy provider, is bracing itself for accusations of profiteering at the expense of its struggling customers as it prepares to announce a 30 per cent jump in profit at its division supplying gas and electricity to UK ...

BoE governor King warns of risks in UK mortgage scheme

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:07:59 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - A flagship British government scheme to boost mortgage lending must not become permanent like in the United States, outgoing Bank Governor Mervyn King said on Saturday. King's warning follows criticism that the plan will ...

Qatar Holding Italy fund eying Versace - paper

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:43:08 -0400

Reuters © Pedestrians walk past the Versace store on Fifth Avenue in New York October 8, 2009. U.S. retailers posted their first monthly sales increase in more than a year. REUTERS/Lucas ...

Curfew in place as Nigeria presses Boko Haram insurgents

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:16:14 -0400

The Nigerian military Saturday ordered a partial curfew in the city of Maiduguri amid a government offensive against Islamist militants. The 24-hour curfew was implemented in neighborhoods considered to be Boko Haram strongholds in the northeastern city, in a region that has been a hotbed of the Boko Haram guerrilla movement. The military said in a written statement it had the rebels on the run ...